Why facebook
Why Facebook is Banned in China
Facebook has over 1.23 billion monthly active users worldwide, but what it doesn’t have is any users, active or otherwise, in China! That’s because Facebook is banned in China. The Chinese government controls Internet content and restricts, deletes, or bans content it deems is not in the interest of the state. According to a government transcript released in the fall of 2014, Lu Wei, director of China’s State Internet Information Office, said that “foreign Internet companies entering China must at the base level accord to Chinese laws and regulations. First, you can’t damage the national interests of the country. Second is you cannot hurt the benefits of Chinese consumers. If China’s laws and regulations are respected, we welcome all of the world’s Internet companies to enter the Chinese market.” These tight controls imposed have resulted in the ban of foreign social media sites, like Facebook. How did this come about?
Rioting and the Government
The 2009 riots in Xinjiang, a western Chinese province, sparked the banning of Facebook. It is believed the government restricted access because Beijing the social network for the perpetuation of the riots. Access has been restricted ever since.
Wei’s comments support the notion that the Chinese government wants to control content, whether user- or company-generated, on the Internet. So while it can control, restrict, and delete content created in China, it is unable to control the content of servers located outside of China. As a result, the only action is to ban access.
Other Banned Comrades
While Facebook may be the largest in terms of monthly active users, it is not the only non-Chinese Internet company that has felt the wrath of the government. Twitter Inc.
Facebook has over 1.23 billion monthly active users worldwide, but what it doesn’t have is any users, active or otherwise, in China! That’s because Facebook is banned in China. The Chinese government controls Internet content and restricts, deletes, or bans content it deems is not in the interest of the state. According to a government transcript released in the fall of 2014, Lu Wei, director of China’s State Internet Information Office, said that “foreign Internet companies entering China must at the base level accord to Chinese laws and regulations. First, you can’t damage the national interests of the country. Second is you cannot hurt the benefits of Chinese consumers. If China’s laws and regulations are respected, we welcome all of the world’s Internet companies to enter the Chinese market.” These tight controls imposed have resulted in the ban of foreign social media sites, like Facebook. How did this come about?
Rioting and the Government
The 2009 riots in Xinjiang, a western Chinese province, sparked the banning of Facebook. It is believed the government restricted access because Beijing the social network for the perpetuation of the riots. Access has been restricted ever since.
Wei’s comments support the notion that the Chinese government wants to control content, whether user- or company-generated, on the Internet. So while it can control, restrict, and delete content created in China, it is unable to control the content of servers located outside of China. As a result, the only action is to ban access.
Other Banned Comrades
While Facebook may be the largest in terms of monthly active users, it is not the only non-Chinese Internet company that has felt the wrath of the government. Twitter Inc.
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